Educated at the London Hospital, he came under the influence of Dr Barnado, who was then prominent in his Christian relief work in the East End. Gushue-Taylor served as principal medical officer to Dr Barnado's Homes and Hospitals. He went as a medical missionary to Formosa, then a Japanese colony, and founded there the Happy Mount Leprosy Colony which he directed for many years, and worked at the Mackay Hospital, Taihoku, Formosa. He later settled at Qualichum Beach, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, but died at sea on 22 April 1954 on his way home after a visit to Formosa, aged about 66.